Local invasiveness and distant metastasis are critical factors that contribute to oral squamous cell carcinoma-related deaths. Increasing evidence has shown that the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in cancer progression and is associated with the 'stemness' of cancer cells. Snail is a transcriptional factor that can induce EMT and preserve stem-cell function, which may induce resistance to radio-and chemotherapies in the cells. In the present study, SCC9 cells were transfected with an empty vector or a vector encoding human Snail (SCC9-S). Overexpression of Snail induced SCC9 cells to undergo EMT, in which the cells presented a fibroblast-like appearance, downregulated the epithelial markers E-cadherin and b-catenin, upregulated the mesenchymal marker vimentin, and associated with highly invasive and metastatic properties. Furthermore, the induction of EMT promoted cancer stem cell (CSC)-like characteristics in the SCC9-S cells, such as low proliferation, self-renewal, and CSC-like markers expression. These results indicate that overexpression of Snail induces EMT and promotes CSC-like traits in the SCC9 cells. Further understanding the role of Snail in cancer progression may reveal new targets for the prevention or therapy of oral cancers. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent type of cancer in the oral cavity and is associated with high morbidity and poor prognosis. 1,2 Despite progress in surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the 5-year survival rate has remained at 50-55% over the past several decades. 3 Local or regional recurrences and distant metastases have a critical role in this process, and the mechanism underlying their occurrence remains poorly understood. 2,4 During metastatic progression, tumour cells lose cell-cell adhesion, detach from the primary site, invade the basement membrane, survive and circulate in the blood vessels, leave the bloodstream, and finally colonise in a new host environment to form micrometastases. 2,5-7 A growing body of research strongly suggests that the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), which occurs normally during embryonic development, tissue remodelling, and wound healing, is a critical early event in tumour invasion and metastasis. [8][9][10] It is characterised by downregulation of epithelial markers, such as E-cadherin, and upregulation of mesenchymal markers, such as vimentin. During the process of EMT, epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal cell properties and show reduced intercellular adhesion and increased invasion. 11 The transcriptional repressor Snail, which is a zinc finger protein, first described in Drosophila melanogaster, can bind to the E-boxes in the human E-cadherin promoter and suppress its transcription. 12,13 Snail has previously been implicated in triggering EMT during embryonic development, fibrosis, and tumour progression. 14 This process also occurs in the progression of carcinomas (including oral carcinoma cells), following the downregulation of E-cadherin expression or co-expression of NB...